Last year I blogged about attending the Steve Harvey Disney Dreamers Academy 5fth Year Celebration. Now I want to give you an update about what the graduates of Disney’s Dreamers Academy with Steve Harvey and ESSENCE Magazine have been up to. Disney’s Dreamers Academy Alumni all left the experience at Walt Disney World Resort sporting a class ring and have turned inspiration into action, morphing childhood dreams into prime-time reality.

“Disney’s Dreamers Academy really opened my eyes to so many possibilities and introduced me to such amazing people,” said 2008 Dreamer Tevyn Cole, who started School Me Clothing, a line of apparel dedicated to showcasing African American inventors.

Class of 2009 alum Taylor Thomas was so impressed with her Disney’s Dreamer’s Academy experience and immersive workshops that she applied for and became a member of the Walt Disney World College Program. Taylor, is now a freshman at Southern Illinois University studying Spanish Education.

Disney’s Dreamer’s Academy with Steve Harvey and ESSENCE Magazine will celebrate its fifth-year anniversary March 8-11 at Disney World with the graduation of the Class of 2012. More than 500 students will have benefited from the Academy’s series of immersive workshops and motivational advice sessions delivered by celebrities and career professionals. Each year, Disney’s Dreamers Academy selects 100 high school students from across the U.S to attend the four-day power-packed educational experience at Walt Disney World Resort.

When class of 2008 Berchell “Kyle” Egerton entered Disney’s Dreamers Academy, he was an avid artist whose big dream was to become a successful fashion designer. This month, Kyle’s dreams came true as the 20-year-old junior at the Art Institute of New York City launched his own line of clothing to the design world at New York Fashion Week.

Class of 2010 alum Niki Dawson has become a pop singing sensation and fulfilled her dreams by using the inspiration and career advice she received to propel her onto the hit TV show The Voice and the national spotlight. Dawson credits her immersive workshop with Ruben Studdard and Kimberly Locke at “The American Idol Experience” during Disney’s Dreamers Academy for helping to focus her dreams into a realistic plan of action

This year, more than 4,700 applications were submitted for review by a celebrity panel of judges led by comedian, author, philanthropist and Disney’s Dreamers Academy Ambassador Steve Harvey. Judging criteria for students selected was based on exhibiting curiosity, compassion and leadership skills.